Technical glitch grows: Pankaja Munde's chopper snags, emergency landing follows

Sambhajinagar (The Uttam Hindu): Following the recent Ajit Pawar plane crash in Maharashtra, politicians are becoming wary and apprehensive about air travel. Meanwhile, significant news has emerged from Sambhajinagar, where BJP leader and Cabinet Minister Pankaja Munde's helicopter suffered a technical snag just before takeoff. Prioritizing safety, Pankaja immediately canceled her trip. The pilot's timely warning averted a potential danger, prompting Munde to temporarily postpone her trip.

The flight was to take off for election campaigning in Latur

According to reports, Pankaja Munde was scheduled to travel from Sambhajinagar to Latur for the Zilla Parishad election campaign. She was about to depart by helicopter when the pilot reported a technical problem. Given the recent accidents, she decided against traveling in the same helicopter. Later, the administration and her team decided that she would now attend the Latur meeting using another helicopter so as not to disrupt her election campaign.

Politicians are scared by the incidents of Ajit Pawar and Vijay Rupani

It's worth noting that NCP leader and then-Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar recently died in a tragic plane crash in Baramati. Five others died in the accident, following which his wife, Sunetra Pawar, was appointed Deputy Chief Minister. This incident has made state leaders extremely cautious about air travel. This series of plane accidents doesn't stop there; on June 12, 2025, former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also died in the crash of Air India Flight 171. In 2021, the country's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, also lost his life in a helicopter crash. Due to these frequent incidents, security standards are now being doubled before VIP flights.